traduzione videogiochi

Video game translation

boy playing video game

WHY TRANSLATE VIDEO GAMES?

Why translate video games?

To increase sales and revenue. The video game industry, in fact, is a thriving and growing market. According to SuperData, the world’s leading research company for video games, virtual reality and augmented reality, video games generated about $120 billion in revenue during 2018. And GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, expects the video games market to become a $300bn-plus industry by 2025.

Potential customers out there are countless, but not everyone speaks your language. According to Microsoft, there are more than two billion gamers around the world. This number includes everyone from those playing free games on their phone to those using a state-of-the-art computer fitted with the latest hardware. However, to sell well also abroad, you need to translate video games into the language of the potential customer. Not all players around the world, in fact, speak the original language of the game. Therefore, to avoid failing, it is necessary to offer the end user a tailored solution and a convincing and engaging gaming experience, which you will get thanks to a high quality localization.

WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL STEPS TO EXPORT A VIDEO GAME ABROAD?

What are the fundamental steps to export a video game abroad?

When you want to sell video games to a global audience beyond the borders of your home country, there are four stages they have to go through first: globalization, internationalization, localization and translation, which are often referred to by the acronym GILT.

Globalization and internationalization are the very first steps to take, possibly when the video game still has to be created. They consist, in fact, in the allocation of resources and in developing a product in such a way as to facilitate the subsequent stage: localization. Localization consists in adapting the video game into a different linguistic and cultural context, that of the target audience. For example, did you know that in Germany it is almost always forbidden to show swastikas and blood in video games? If they are present in the original version, they must be deleted or modified in the localized one. And last but not least, translation. This is also an essential and delicate stage, which requires specific technical knowledge. To translate video games correctly, in fact, it is essential to be familiar with tags and variables and know how to deal with character limits.

girl playing video game

WHAT TO TRANSLATE AND LOCALIZE?

What to translate and localize?

Depending on the budget available and the deadline, you can opt for different levels of localization:

Box and Docs, which consists in translating only the packaging and the manual;

Partial localization, which consists in translating the documentation and the in-game text (UI, instructions, indicators etc.), but not the video and audio assets, which at most can be subtitled;

Full localization, which consists in translating the documentation, the in-game texts, the graphics, the audio assets and the cinematic dialogues.

THE VIDEO GAME TRANSLATION SERVICE OFFERED BY SCRIPTS MANENT

The video game translation service offered by Scripts Manent

localizzazione videogiochi

Whatever the level of localization you need, Scripts Manent will be an excellent ally in the translation and transcreation phase. To recreate a pleasant gaming experience, in fact, in addition to translating video games properly, a certain amount of creativity may also be required. In fact, it may be necessary to localize the character names, or to reinvent rhyming paragraphs in order not to lose them in translation, or to produce on the target players the same effect as on the source audience, or to manipulate obscure cultural references, in order not to hinder the gameplay.

In the end, thanks to the professional experience gained also in the industry of subtitling and script adaptation for dubbing, I can provide added value not only to the in-game texts, the packaging and the manual, but also to the subtitles and cinematic dialogues. This is because I am aware of the challenges these audiovisual translation modalities might pose and know how best to deal with them.

localizzazione videogiochi

Contacts

If you wish to receive more information or ask for a quotation, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me, or fill out the contact form.

Mobile

+39 346 1700520

E-mail

g.castenetto@scriptsmanent.it

If you wish to receive more information or ask for a quotation, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me, or fill out the contact form.

Mobile

+39 346 1700520

E-mail

g.castenetto@scriptsmanent.it

Contact Form